FOOTBALL DAILY: So close yet so far for Ward's Ireland | O'Sullivan on a tough night at the office | Byrne on Israeli debacle
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Football on Off the Ball. To start with my brother from another mother, Patrick Kluivert, you had Edgar David, you had Frank Rijkaard, and if I need to name one, Frank Rijkaard was of course the man. Join in the obsession. Subscribe now at offtheball.com forward slash join. Football Daily on Off the Ball with Lynx. A proud sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Hello and welcome along to Wednesday's Football Daily. I'm Phil Egan. Coming up today, Ireland falls short in their bid for automatic qualification for the World Cup after a 1-0 loss to France. Denise O'Sullivan gives her thoughts after an emotional night in Grenoble for the girls in green. And TD Joanna Byrne says Ireland's game in the Nations League against Israel should be stopped rather than moved out of the country.
At first today, Ireland were beaten 1-0 by France in Grenoble last night to end their hopes of automatic qualification for next year's World Cup. The Netherlands won 3-1 at Hampton, Poland in the other game in the group, which means Carla Ward's side finished third, but they will be seeded for next Thursday's playoff draw in Neon. Melvin Mallard's stunning goal just before half-time was the difference between the two sides. The Manchester United striker scored both goals in the 2-1 win over Ireland at Tala Stadium back in March. Ward says she's proud of what they achieved in this Nations League campaign.
Yeah, look, we wanted to win the game. But first of all, I have got nothing but pride for this group. Immensely proud of what they continue to achieve. And I think I just said it in there. I think every young girl will be looking at this group and massively inspired what they continue to achieve. And yes, we've fallen short tonight. But listen, we've had an unbelievable campaign. We really have. They're an unbelievable group to work with. And I am extremely proud of them tonight.
Next up for Ireland will be the playoffs. They'll have to win a semi-final and final to book their spot in Brazil next summer. Ward says she won't need to pick the players up after the disappointment of not qualifying automatically.
Listen, I won't need to get these players up for that. I'll tell you now, they are, you know, they're obsessed with learning, being better all the time. They want to get to a World Cup. When they put that shirt on, they don't need any added motivation. You know, they're a wonderful group. I love working with them. I really do.
What led to Ireland's defeat against France in the World Cup qualifiers?
And listen, they'll be ready for sure.
Denise O'Sullivan came back in to start in midfield and she said that the players were extremely disappointed not to win.
Yeah, we're all disappointed. I think that just shows the growth of the team that we're extremely disappointed not to automatically qualify against one of the best teams in the world. But I think we started probably first half a bit slow. I think we may have sat back a little too much. But look, the second half we went at them.
How did Denise O'Sullivan reflect on her performance after the match?
And I think when we went at them, we created chances. And look, it wasn't our night. We didn't finish the chances. But really proud of the team overall. Proud of the character. You know, the bench made a big impact again tonight. Jess Sue, Abi Larkin coming in. You know, creating chances as well. So a lot to be proud of. But we have to keep our heads up and look towards October now.
Sullivan was speaking to her own Stephen Doyle and admitted as well she could have played a lot better.
On a personal level coming into the game tonight did you feel it was a good or a bad thing that you weren't playing on Friday?
Definitely a bad thing yeah I never want to miss games and then you're a game behind and look I know I could have been better for myself tonight particularly in the first half probably could have held the ball up a bit more for the team but felt like we were just a bit under the cosh in the whole first half with a lot of pressure but personally I'm disappointed as well with my own performance and look I'm I've over 100 caps in my country, I can take responsibility when it's time and tonight I wasn't really good enough.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–2:21
2
What led to Ireland's defeat against France in the World Cup qualifiers?
2:21–2:49
3
How did Denise O'Sullivan reflect on her performance after the match?
2:49–4:25
4
What are the implications of Ireland finishing third in their Nations League group?
4:25–5:42
5
What does Carla Ward say about the team's progress and resilience?
5:42–14:04
Speakers
9 identifiedMore from OTB Football
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